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Main definitions of hide in US English:

hide1

verb

‘You arrive at the house and sit at the table and grab that bottle of Whiskey you hid.’

‘Then Joseph finds gold in a creek, first hides this from his family, then abandons them to go prospecting.’

‘The letter was hidden in the pocket of her Guess jeans.’

‘The court heard that Ross hid the bullets to prevent suspicion falling on him or his family.’

‘But traders say they are slowly drifting back and drinking from bottles hidden in plastic bags.’

‘Once Kyle and Drake reach the gas station they park the car and hide their weapons under their shirts and get out.’

‘Mike reached over, opened his glove compartment and took out the small bottle of whiskey he hid there for emergencies.’

‘These are believed to be treasures from the Temple at Jerusalem, which were hidden away for safekeeping.’

‘I kept the bottle hidden in the fridge for a whole week waiting for the moment when i could enjoy it at my leisure.’

‘After Joe's funeral, Tom realizes that the treasure is hidden in the cave.’

‘She had some casual clothes, but those had to be hidden away since her parents frowned upon anything they considered unladylike.’

‘On Saturday we continued with the sorting out and tackled three boxes of assorted stuff that have been carefully hidden away in the cupboards in the spare room since we moved in over eighteen months ago.’

‘But Evans' camera was hidden from sight.’

‘The Revenue Commissioners are poised to sign deals with some of the world's most secretive tax havens in a bid to prevent tax dodgers hiding their money abroad.’

‘She hoped the bags under her eyes that she'd taken great pains to hide with concealer would not give away just how much sleep she'd not been getting.’

‘He had saved around £2,000 which had been hidden away in a holdall behind a table in his bungalow.’

‘Magistrates were told that police called at his home with a trained dog which found the drugs in his bedroom hidden under a mattress.’

‘This technique also works on red pimples that concealer alone can't hide.’

‘The silver gilt trophy had been hidden away in a bank vault in a secret location.’

‘A jury at Bradford Crown Court was told that more than £8,500 was found at his Keighley home and £12,000 was hidden under a mattress at his parents' home.’

1.4hide behindno objectUse (someone or something) to protect oneself from criticism or punishment, especially in a way considered cowardly or unethical.

‘companies and manufacturers with poor security can hide behind the law’

‘Councillor John Godward said Mr Garland was hiding behind the election.’

‘The unpleasant truth is that hiding behind private ownership only hides the fall in value from people who choose not to look.’

‘He accused the Mayor of hiding behind the issue and said it seemed he was not for radiotherapy at all.’

‘Why on earth should we hide behind a law when we can change it in the House?’

‘The Evening Press has tried to get answers but the main players are hiding behind a confidentiality clause.’

‘Does he have the fortitude to actually NAME the country he would like to slur, or is he the sort of intellectual coward who hides behind a snide comment rather than a reasoned argument?’

‘Let us find out what really happens, and we can do that by removing the laws that drive that activity underground - by removing the laws that the activity hides behind, such as the Massage Parlours Act.’

‘It's a step in the right direction that they can't hide behind international law.’

‘At my most judgmental, they look like they are hiding behind some deeply suppressed fear of engaging with people on a real level.’

‘He is still hiding behind the Church as far as I am concerned because they allowed him time to pack up and leave.’

‘Nor can Kerry justify his strategy by hiding behind public fear and caution.’

‘He said there was no point the engineers hiding behind the National Roads Authority.’

‘I'm not hiding behind the exchange rate, but anybody who says it is not a factor is kidding themselves.’

‘Speaking at the Mass, the bishop said the Church should stop hiding behind its lawyers.’

‘Some firms are dragging their heels hiding behind the excuse that more guidance is due from the FSA in the next few weeks.’

‘Even to the pillars of our society, the days of hiding behind civil law, martial law and canon law are gone.’

noun

British

A camouflaged shelter used to get a close view of wildlife.

‘We made observations from a portable hide positioned at least 6 m from the nest using a telescope.’

‘We expect the camera crew to sit patiently in a camouflaged hide, waiting for the wildlife to wander by.’

‘The children have maintained a log book in the hide of all the birds and wildlife they see.’

‘Breeding territory and preferred perching places of males were determined based on regular observations from a hide at the breeding barns.’

‘Watching from the Breydon Bridge observation hide at high tide, I suddenly became aware of hundreds of dunlin taking wing and climbing high above the saltings.’

‘You might think that most hides for bird-watching are not much more than lap-timbered sheds with a flap in one side.’

‘Once you have all this fabulous wildlife visiting your garden how about making a hide for the children to watch the wildlife through without disturbing it.’

‘If you were building a hide from which to observe them in their natural habitat, you would probably situate it somewhere in the north-west between Liverpool and Wigan.’

‘The area beside the canal is popular with walkers and birdwatchers, who use hides overlooking a wetlands area close to the lake.’

‘We had a member who had a nectar feeder in his garden and a hide close by from which he photographed his ‘customers’.’

‘I spent an afternoon observing the female Kentish plover, obtaining good views from an observation hide.’

‘Here there is a wildlife hide overlooking a pond.’

‘The new canal-side reserve will include special boardwalks and hides from which the wildlife can be viewed.’

‘Public viewing hides at the reserve and on the shores of the Bay offer glimpses of the rare bearded tit and bittern.’

‘Also this Saturday and Sunday and the following weekend, the public will be given the chance to see many of the park's wintering ducks when the private hides on the Lower Mill Estate will be opened up.’

‘We can no longer maintain the old Cartesian view that we can observe Nature like a bird-watcher with a perfect hide.’

‘The property sleeps nine and has ready access to woodland walks and a five-acre wildlife reserve with bird hides and a trout lake.’

‘Sitting in tiny hides for long periods, they were privileged to observe the domestic life of the mysterious bittern.’

‘At a nearby wildlife sanctuary, children study birds from hides.’

Phrases

hide one's head

Cover up one's face or keep out of sight, especially from shame.

‘He's silent for a few minutes hiding his head in my chest.’

‘Certainly, there are moments that resonate beyond others, and everyone associated with that debacle should just hide their head in shame.’

‘They stared at him, until he hid his head in shame.’

‘Summer looks mortified, she goes bright red and hides her head, but her mother and the other two mothers don't even notice’

‘Oh the shame of it Kim thought, she tried to avoid the stares by hiding her head in her hands, she could already feel the warmth flushing into her cheeks.’

‘I continued to hide my head, until Will lifted my chin gently and looked at me.’

‘She sat down on the couch, hiding her head in her hands.’

‘He did not say more, but only hid his head and shuddered.’

‘Donna looks over but hides her head in her menu as the woman starts to shout at the bartender.’

‘I looked at Deidre again, and she was still hiding her head in her hand, shaking it as if she couldn't believe she'd just done that in the elevator.’

hide one's light under a bushel

Keep quiet about one's talents or accomplishments.

‘You've been hiding your light under a bushel McLeod.’

‘A lot of people hide their light under a bushel.’

‘Not one to hide his light under a bushel, he has had no hesitation in revealing the first name that would be on his World XI teamsheet for 4-4-2 magazine this month: ‘Me of course, because I am an arrogant, selfish soul’.’

‘Never one to hide his light under a bushel, he has extracted the most possible mileage from his stewardship of York City.’

‘We want to try and get them to believe that it's good to succeed, to feel special, and realise they should not hide their light under a bushel.’

‘Nor do its people feel any need to hide their light under a bushel like the painfully self-conscious and underconfident Scots.’

‘Never one to hide his light under a bushel, he predicts he will be able to create artificial life in a test tube within the next three years.’

‘Nowadays to be bright is to be stigmatised, so better to hide your light under a bushel.’

‘If there are any negative aspects of Quakerism it's that we have a tendency to hide our light under a bushel.’

‘‘The awards are for the people who normally hide their light under a bushel,’ he says.’

1.1Used to refer to a person's ability to withstand criticisms or insults.

‘“I'm sorry I called you a pig.” “My hide's thick enough; it didn't bother me.”’

‘A player might start out not looking very tough, but he develops a thick hide and becomes a tough guy at the height of his abilities.’

‘Those of us in the business for a while develop tough hides to absorb the ‘critiques’ of outraged readers.’

‘Not only do politicians require hides as thick as oxen, we expect them to have their constitution as well.’

‘You've got to have a hide as thick as a rhinoceros to carry on and pretend nothing has happened.’

‘Wasn't it really because he had the hide to be critical of business and ask tough questions.’

‘Behind the anecdotes, Manahan gained the tough hide of ego necessary to survive in the uncertain world of acting.’

‘But does he have the thick hide needed for the rough'n'tumble of life in Sacramento?’

‘She laughs, radiant in her self-satisfaction, shielded by a hard hide and chutzpa from charges of vulgarity, greed or egomania.’

‘The guy had a hide as thick as a rhino, loved his politics and he didn't have a mean bone in his body.’

‘I just have a thick hide and disregard what silly people say.’

‘Small wonder Eleanor later remarked: ‘Any woman who goes into public life has to have a hide like a rhinoceros.’’

‘Any writer hoping to break in must have the thickest hide.’

‘Fortunately, my hide was thick enough that I didn't let it get to me.’

‘If he was an overly sensitive child he has grown a considerably thicker hide since then.’

‘And you have to hand it to John Howard - he has the thickest hide in town.’

‘It takes a thick hide to stay in this field and be a survivor.’

‘So far he owes his survival to an extraordinarily thick political hide, which none of his detractors had previously credited him for.’

‘Develop a thick hide and have patience - and keep writing, whether you get recognized or not.’

‘That, in turn, has opened him to many questions about the thickness of his political hide and his ability to take these blows like a man.’

‘Eight months after having learnt this elusive skill, I have a tough hide.’

Phrases

hide or hair of someone

with negativeThe slightest sight or trace of someone.

‘I could find neither hide nor hair of him’

‘For the past 18 years no-one has seen hide nor hair of this shy, ground-dwelling bird.’

‘She had seen his truck in the driveway when they walked over but hadn't seen hide or hair of him.’

‘But we did not see hide nor hair of him - which is a pity, really - during the whole of the consideration of the legislation.’

‘The note was discovered three weeks ago - no one has seen hide nor hair of Brian or since.’

save one's hide

Escape from danger or difficulty.

‘Now Jack must foil his own plans in order to save his hide.’

‘I decide to lie to save my hide - who wouldn't except for, well, those goody-goodies with such conscientious hearts?’

‘Your only chance to save your hide is to go along with the program, like I did.’

‘Corporations, their defense attorneys and lobbyists are swarming all over Washington seeking to save their collective hides.’

tan (or whip) someone's hide

1Beat or flog someone.

‘Jarrod found out he's been sneaking out at night and he tanned his hide.’

‘If your father hears you saying these things, he'll tan your hide.’

‘My father would have tanned my hide if I pulled a stunt like that.’

‘You had better leave before she gets back or she'll tan your hide for certain sure.’

‘Now Mirnola, you are not skipping out of here without a decent meal and a bath, or I'll tan your hide,’

‘Your cousin will tan my hide if I don't make certain that you're okay.’

‘Gimme any more lip and I'll tan your hide for all to see.’

‘I remember when I was about 5 and I tried biting her because I couldn't have my own way over something - she was bruised for days, so was I. She bit me right back just as hard and then tanned my hide till I couldn't sit down.’

1.1Punish someone severely.

Origin

Old English hȳd, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch huid and German Haut.